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Twin Cities' best entertainment bets for Aug. 4-9

Pioneer Press

Posted:
08/03/2013 09:49:15 PM CDT

Updated:
08/03/2013 09:49:23 PM CDT

Theater The Last (Potluck) Supper

In previews: All good things must come to an end, and so it is that the creators of the successful and profitable "Church Basement Ladies" franchise tell us that this installment will be its last. The show is set in 1979, when the little Lutheran church in East Cornucopia, Minn., is celebrating its centennial. Reminiscences and humor are on the menu, along with hotdish and egg coffee. Liked the first four helpings of "Church Basement Ladies"? Why wreck your streak? Through Feb. 23; Plymouth Play-house, 2705 Annapolis Lane N., Plymouth; $38-$27; 763-553-1600, ext. 1, or plymouthplayhouse.com.

-- Dominic P. Papatola

Family Circus Juventas

Through Aug. 18: Aerial monkey attacks and flying witches are part of "Oz: Under the Big Top, Over the Rainbow, You Are Not in Kansas," the summer show by youth circus school Circus Juventas. The Cirque du Soleil-style production includes a swinging trapeze in the shape of a house built to evoke Dorothy's home in Kansas. We can only guess what happens when the tornado arrives. Other new acts include aerial chairs and a spinning cube of witches. The production showcases dozens of top students, elaborate costumes and sets and professional music, choreography and circus rigging. Circus Juventas Big Top, 1270 Montreal Ave.â St. Paul; $35-$14; ticketworks.

Sunday: Mexican dance group Los Alegres Bailadores teams up with the band Mariachi Flor y Canto for a night of trumpet flourishes and swirling skirts. The mariachi sextet plays walzes, cumbias and traditional songs at a monthly gig at Boca Chica restaurant. This is a chance to hear the band outdoors at a grassy amphitheater as part of the Caponi Art Park's summer performance series. Bring a chair and tap your feet to the strumming beat of that oversize guitarron. 6:30 p.m.; Caponi Art Park, 1220 Diffley Road, Eagan; $5 suggested donation; 651-454-9412 or caponiartpark.org.

Sunday and Wednesday: Guitarist/vocalist John Butler (7:30 p.m. Sunday; $50.50-$38) began his career busking on the streets of Perth, Australia, where he played songs that dipped into both Celtic and Indian traditions. After forming a band, he began touring and quickly became something akin to a Down Under version of Dave Matthews. Texas folk band Wild Child opens for Butler. The Music in the Zoo series continues with the Rock 'n' Blues Festival (7:30 p.m. Wednesday; $66.50-$54), a package tour of classic rock acts 10 Years After, the Edgar Winter Band, Canned Heat, Rick Derringer and Pat Travers. Weesner Family Amphitheater, Minnesota Zoo, 13000 Zoo Blvd., Apple Valley; 800-745-3000.

-- Ross Raihala

Pop Vampire Weekend

Monday: Vampire Weekend formed when the members were students at Columbia University, sharing a love of punk rock and African music. The band found almost instant acclaim online and was able to mount three full tours and pose for the cover of Spin magazine before the 2008 release of its self-titled debut album. Vampire Weekend is touring to promote its warmly received third album, "Modern Vampires of the City," which entered the Billboard charts at No. 1 when it was released in May. Buzzy new Australian trio the High Highs open. 7:30 p.m.; Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave., Mpls.; $35; 800-982-2787.

-- Ross Raihala

Folk-rock Shawn Phillips

Monday: This singer-songwriter's poetic lyrics, exceptional acoustic guitar skills and soaring falsetto reached their largest audience in the '70s, when he created a couple of classic folk-rock albums in "Second Contribution" and "Collaboration." That's when he sold out multiple nights at the Guthrie and found his way onto the Billboard charts. But Phillips has always been something of a maverick, spending most of the past four decades in Italy and South Africa, only intermittently returning to his native U.S. for small-scale shows. Recent Twin Cities visits have shown him still in fine voice, and the Dakota might be the ideal venue for his intimate ballads. 7 and 9 p.m.; Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.; $35-$25; 612-332-5299 or dakotacooks.com.

-- Rob Hubbard

Rock The Cult

Tuesday: In 2009, the Cult's lead singer, Ian Astbury, said his band was done making albums just as it hit the road for a tour playing the 1985 breakthrough "Love" in its entirety. Well, last year, the Cult put out a new record, "Choice of Weapon," and already has announced plans to issue more fresh music in 2014. In the meantime, this tour is devoted to 1987's "Electric," the album that gave the world "Love Removal Machine." The Cult also just released "Electric Peace," which includes the original "Electric" as the first CD and an earlier, unreleased version of it ("Peace") on disc two. 8 p.m.; Varsity Theater, 1308 Fourth St. S.E., Mpls.; sold out; 612-604-0222.

-- Ross Raihala

R&B D'Angelo

Tuesday: Neo-soul singer/sex symbol D'Angelo famously disappeared after his sophomore disc, 2000's "Voodoo," earned him critical and commercial love. There's still no release date for his long-awaited third album, which is apparently no longer called "James River," but D'Angelo did return to the road last year for a European tour that marked his first major public activity in a decade. Earlier this summer, D'Angelo played First Avenue with Roots drummer Questlove, and he clearly enjoyed the show. He has already booked this return engagement less than seven weeks later, although Questlove is not on the bill this time around. 7:30 p.m.; First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Mpls.; $41.50; 612-332-1775.

-- Ross Raihala

Rock ZZ Top

Tuesday: Texas trio ZZ Top spent the '70s making greasy, bluesy rock and then became unlikely superstars in the '80s through heavy promotion on MTV. The big hits dried up by the early '90s, and the guys have been concentrating on the heavier, grittier sound of their early days. Rhino has issued "The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990," which collects the band's first 10 albums in one place. It also contains the original versions of several early ZZ Top records for the first time on CD. They previously had been available only in a 1987 box set that was remixed to add synthesized elements. 7:30 p.m.; Myth, 3090 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood; $54.50; 651-779-6984.

-- Ross Raihala

Rock The National

Tuesday: The most notable thing about Brooklyn indie rockers the National is how relatively traditional they are. The five band members spent the '90s kicking around in various going-nowhere combos before solidifying into the National by 1999. Two years later, they issued their rootsy, self-titled debut and hit the road for some long, hard years of paying dues. "Alligator," released in 2005, helped solidify interest in the National, and the band has continued to build on that success, most recently with "Trouble Will Find Me," its second consecutive album to enter the Billboard charts at No. 3. London folk trio Daughter opens. 7:30 p.m.; Roy Wilkins Auditorium, West Fifth Street between Washington and West Seventh streets, St. Paul; $36; 800-745-3000.

-- Ross Raihala

Family Lau Hawaiian Collective

Tuesday: Led by the lilting voice of Hawaii native Kim Sueoka, the Lau Hawaiian Collective proves Minnesotans can hula. The ensemble of Twin Cities musicians is dedicated to preserving and playing Hawaiian music. In their all-ages outdoor concert, they will tell stories and perform songs from their CD, "Wai: Hawaiian Fresh Water Songs," a tribute to the Hawaiian concept of water as a symbol of love and life. The group includes Sueoka on ukulele, David Burk on guitar and lap steel, bassist Rahn Yanes, Dave Kapell on glass harp and ukulele and percussionist/vocalist Shahzore Shah. 7 p.m.; Central Park Frank Rog Amphitheatre, 2540 N. Lexington Ave., Roseville; free; 651-792-7000 or cityofroseville.com/parks.

-- Maja Beckstrom

Family Clicks, Claps, Clunks!

Tuesday: Percussion generally provides rhythm backup, but in this act, it steals the show. Robert Adney, Steve Yeager and Eric Strom, performing as the Minnesota Percussion Trio, create music with five-gallon buckets, tin cans and spoons, tambourines, paper and their own bodies. In addition to teaching and performing, the veteran musicians have played educational shows together for nearly 20 years, leaving audiences bouncing with the beat. 10-11 a.m.; Caponi Art Park, 1220 Diffley Road, Eagan; $4 suggested donation; 651-454-9412 or caponiartpark.org.

-- Maja Beckstrom

Rock Mickey Hart Band

Wednesday: The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart returns with his solo band in tow. Hart has been on a creative kick. Last year, he released "Mysterium Tremendum," his first album in five years, which was co-written by longtime Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. He has already followed it up with "Superorganism," which was inspired by what Hart has called "the hidden worlds of rhythm within us." Hart used his own brainwave signals and heart rhythms to help create the new songs, also co-written with Hunter. This version of Hart's band includes Grammy-winning percussionist Sikiru Adepoju and Tony Award-winning vocalist Crystal Monee Hall. 8 p.m.; Mill City Nights, 111 N. Fifth St., Mpls.; $30; 888-929-7849.

-- Ross Raihala

Folk Tom Rush

Thursday: Tom Rush began performing more than 50 years ago, when he was a Harvard University English major. His 1968 composition, "No Regrets," is one of his best-known tracks and it has been reinterpreted bye Walker Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Midge Ure. Rush also covered acts like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor early in their careers, giving them vital exposure before the masses discovered them. This tour coincides with the release of the concert CD/DVD "Tom Rush Celebrates 50 Years of Music," recorded live last year in Boston. 7:30 p.m.; Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls.; $40-$30; 612-338-2674.

-- Ross Raihala

Folk Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-time Music Festival

Thursday-Aug. 11: If you like hot picking and high, lonesome harmonies, one of America's most acclaimed bluegrass festivals happens near St. Cloud. This year's lineup includes the band named Entertainers of the Year at the most recent International Bluegrass Music Awards, the Gibson Brothers (Saturday), as well as other decorated acts like the Claire Lynch Band (Friday), Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice (Friday and Saturday), Darin & Brooke Aldridge (Saturday and Sunday) and Bigfoot (Friday through Sunday). The multiple stages also host late-night jam sessions, square dances and musicians' workshops. 6-11:30 p.m. Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Aug. 9-10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 11; El Rancho Manana Campground, 273028 Ranch Road, Richmond; $30-$10; 800-635-3037 or minnesotabluegrass.org.

-- Rob Hubbard

Event Irish Fair of Minnesota

Friday-Aug. 11: Recently named one of the top Celtic festivals in the country by TravelChannel.com, the Irish Fair of Minnesota celebrates everything Irish. Whether you want to watch traditional Irish dancing or settle in for a history lesson about Irish culture, there are plenty of events to fill your day. Live music is one of the main attractions, and this year is no exception with performances by Gaelic Storm, Boiled in Lead, Screaming Orphans, Katie McMahon, FullSet, the Belfast Cowboys, the Tossers, Wild Colonial Bhoys, Hounds of Finn and the Tim Malloys. So get ready to watch the Best Legs in a Kilt contest, participate in a Gaelic sport and pet one of the native Irish dogs at this annual festival. 3-11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 11; Harriet Island, St. Paul; free; 651-645-0221 or irishfair.com.